Five Spice Tofu and Crispy Noodle Salad with a Peanut Sauce

You can prepare this dish from many different types of vegetables and some fruit varieties such as mango and paw paw also work well. In this recipe I use deep fried rice stick noodles but you can use vermicilli noodles if you prefer and for a healthy alternatively simply boil the noodles rather than deep frying them.

Portions: 6 Portions:

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Vegetables

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

half a cucumber, sliced thinly into quarters

50g bean sprouts

100g mange tout, cut into 3

1/3 chinese lettuce, shredded

handful of Thai basil leaves or normal basil leaves, roughly shredded

handful of coriander leaves, stalks finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

2 red chillies, finely chopped (with or with out seeds)

1 tsp lemon grass, finely chopped

3 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)

1 tbsp soy sauce

juice of 1/4 lime

Noodles

50g vermicelli noodles, cooked until just tender and refreshed in cold water

Peanut Sauce

5 tbsp cruncy peanut butter

1 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbps fish sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp basil leaves, deep fried (optional)

2 tbsp coriander leave, deep fried (optional)

2 garlic cloves, peeled, finely sliced and deep fried (optional)

1 tbsp peanut, roasted (optional)

Method

Vegetables and Noodles: Place all the vegetable ingredients and noodles in the bowl and toss them so that they are well distributed.

Dressing: Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl or shake them together in a jar. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss it through the salad so that it is well distributed.

To Serve: Serve the salad garnished with basil leaves, coriander, garlic and peanuts. If preparing the dish in advance refrigerate and bring it to room temperature before serving it.